Search - Vision of a Dying Embrace on DVD

The only Anathema DVD I have so far...

bartmanphooey | Fargo, ND USA | 08/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really love this DVD. There are some great songs on here, the promos are really cool. Most of the disc is actually a live concert in Krakow, Polland. It's Vincent Cavanagh doing the vocal work on this, which I enjoy. It really would have been nice to see some live work with Darren White, but it didn't happen that way. I was disappointed that it was only dolby 2.0, DTS would have made me far happier. Definately worth the money. On an interesting note, I bought this used through Amazon from Spun.com. I placed my order 080103, received confirmation from Spun.com 080403 and finally got it 081503. I saved about 11 bucks buying it used, so it was acceptable I guess, but 14 days is way too long when Amazon usually gets stuff to me in 3-5 days. See my review of Slayer's War At The Warfield for an example of what not to do.Promos: Sweet Tears, Mine Is Yours, The Silent Enigma, HopeConcert: Restless Oblivion, Shroud Of Frost, We The Gods, Sunset Of Age, Mine Is Yours, Sleepless, The Silent Enigma, A Dying Wish.Truly this is an amazing disc. Buy it now."

Could have been better

rafael simian | Santiago, Chile | 01/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who buys this DVD has one main reason: to watch and to hear Anathema playing live. This performance in Krakow consists in 8 songs, 5 from "The Silent Enigma" and 3 from albums which were recorded with Darren White. I am a great fan of this band, especially of "The Silent Enigma" and "Eternity" albums. I think I have heard the former at least a thousand times. As you probably know, it has many parts which are sang gutturally. This guttural aspect of the vocals is very important in the record. For example, the powerfullness of Restless Oblivion rests on Vincent Cavanagh's great guttural sound; the same happens with Shroud of Frost's chorus; and with Sunset of Age's last four lines. The force and dark atmosphere of A Dying Wish is almost unimaginable without the mixture between the guttural and the deep painful vocals. If you, as I, think this is very important for the songs to be as good as they were originally recorded, then you will be dissapointed with this live recording. Vincent does not sing as he did for the record (I am sure the voice in the album is he's), he just screams, but he does not reach the guttural sound, except in Sunset of Age (the problem in this track is that he sings awfully the first eight lines). Sometimes it is pathetic, like when he sings the Shroud of Frost chorus (especially when he says: "I yearn for an answer..."). Of course I will not go into a complete analysis, but I have to tell you: Vincent's voice is not Silent Enigma-like, and he does not adopt an Eternity vocal style neither, he just screams (not sounding awfull all the time, not even half of the times because the screaming sounds good, not excellent like the guttural, in many parts, but making the songs worst). I also have to say three great things of this performance: (1) The band plays their instruments great and sounds perfectly as a whole; (2) Sleepless and The Silent Enigma sounds incredible; (3) Shroud of Frost's last lines are maybe the greatest part because of Vincent's penetrating voice, the beatiful lyrics and the sublime music. These 3 aspects and Vincent's good vocal moments (which is the only element that sometimes is missing for this band's works to be perfect as in the record) make this DVD a great one, not an excellent or perfect one (like My Dying Bride's), that is why I give it 4 stars.
The 2.0 sound is not Anathema's problem, but Peaceville's. It is self-evident that a band like Anathema could benefit from a 5.1 mix."